Fires of Battlefields
by Skylara
Summary: Revised. Gaara makes a special request to the Hokage that begins a series of events from which there is no return. GaaraxSakura, some NarutoHinata and NejiTenTen. Rated for later chapters. On hiatus.
1. Prologue

Fires of Battlefields

Disclaimer: I own nothing save this particular take on a common idea amongst Gaara/Sakura fans.

Prologue:

The night was cold, which was to be expected seeing as nights in the desert usually are. However, for one person at least, the night was anything but cold. No, for them it was hot, unbearably close, and showed no signs of letting up anytime in the near future. Turning restlessly on the bed, never stilling for more than a few precious seconds, sheets long since discarded – thrown to the floor, it seemed there would be no peace for them that particular night.

Apparently though, the fates decided to take pity on the poor soul and they suddenly woke up, gasping desperately for air and grasping at their head, a look of utter disbelief etched onto their features as sweat dripped down their face. After catching their breath, the figure wiped the perspiration off their face and stood, proceeding to walk towards the open window, groaning as they allowed themselves to bask in the cool night air and moonlight that streamed in through the opening.

Gazing at the sky, the figure, a male, sighed agitatedly before coming to a decision and heading out of the room then out of the house they resided in. They walked down a few secluded pathways before coming to a large stone building and walking into said building. After climbing numerous flights of stairs, he finally opened a door to an office and sat down in the chair positioned behind a rather large mahogany desk. Taking out a formal looking blank scroll, he began to write until, seemingly satisfied at what he had written, he rolled up the scroll, sealed it, and summoned a messenger to deliver the message to its intended recipient.

"Take this to Konoha, to the Hokage immediately", he said, and turned around to face towards the window in his office, leaving no room for questions. The messenger bowed before scurrying to comply. Taking a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh, he took one last glance out the window before rising to leave the office. Just before turning out the lights and going out the door, he muttered faintly, almost inaudibly, "Let's see where this will lead the two of us….", before trailing off, leaving things unsaid and flicking off the light and exiting the room, closing the door soundlessly behind him.

Please review. Your opinions, the good and the bad, are appreciated. Constructive criticism is always helpful.


	2. Chapter 1

Fires of Battlefields

Disclaimer: I own nothing save this particular take on a common idea amongst Gaara/Sakura fans.

Chapter 1:

Stepping into the office of her sensei, the fifth Hokage, Sakura Haruno observed the current countenance of the owner of said office and immediately set up her guard. The highly mischievous gleam her sensei sometimes gets in her eyes is a thing to be wary of when it appears, and right now it was blaring with the light of a thousand suns…….this was looking bad, very bad.

"You asked to see me about a special mission Tsunade-sensei?" Sakura questioned tentatively, still highly wary of the look she was being given, as it increased in intensity with this question.

"Yes Sakura, please take a seat." Tsunade replied, gesturing towards the empty chair across from where she was seated behind her rather messy desk. "I have a rather…………. shall we say ...…….…….._unique_ mission for you," a small, cat-like grin appeared on her face as she said this, "that comes at the special request of a highly valued ally and would require you to live in their village for a time."

"What kind of a mission, to where, how long exactly, and for whom?" Sakura eyed her mentor suspiciously as the grin on Tsunade's face became more Cheshire-like with every word.

"Our ally requires a top medic to teach their medic-nin as they are rather insufficient in the medical field, and with the possibility of a war with Sound coming, we'll need all the medics we can get soon. Your job will be to not only train their medics there, but also act as the head of their medical department until at least such a time as there is one trained enough to take over out of the ones you will train." Tsunade answered with a look of false innocence and indifference.

"That only answers on of my questions, what aren't you telling me sensei?" Sakura asked, rather anxious now about what has her sensei looking so highly entertained.

"Oh, nothing much, you're just going to Suna………………. at the personal request of the Kazekage himself." Her grin could now outdo the Cheshire cat himself as she tried to quell the laughter threatening to bubble over at the look on Sakura's face. "Yes, he requested that _you_, and one other medic of _your_ choosing go there for this task." The grin was now permanently plastered to her face as she stated this. "You will choose whomever you wish and the two of you shall leave as soon as humanly possible, tomorrow preferably, understood?"

"Yes……..bu..but why ….and for how long?" Sakura stutters, still in shock.

"Why? I couldn't tell you. Well I could, but that would be no fun at all now would it? You'll have to ask him yourself when you get there." Tsunade replied, now guiding Sakura towards the door. "As for how long ……well……I don't know, maybe a year or two. Oh yes, and Sakura, try not to do anything I wouldn't do with your dear Gaara-_kun_ okay?" Tsunade said cheekily as she pushed Sakura out the door and shut it on her.

"What?!!!!! Tsunade-sensei!!!!" Sakura yelled from the other side of the door, completely flustered and embarrassed now.

"Oh, and tell Shizune when you make your decision of who you will take with you. Have a _pleasant_ trip!" Tsunade added, before finally letting all the laughter out upon hearing Sakura's indignant response from the other side of the door and her storming off to vent.

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"You _actually_ went through with it huh?" Kankuro said with a chuckle while talking with his brother.

"_Yes_, for the last time. She's the best medic in Konoha after the Hokage herself." Gaara replied, looking slightly uncomfortable with the current "discussion".

"Sure that's the _only _reason, and that the fact that you have been dreaming about her since you saw her last has absolutely _nothing_ to do with it?" Kankuro jibed.

"Yes I'm sure!" Gaara snapped, not liking the direction this was going one little bit.

"Notice that he doesn't deny that he's dreaming about her." Temari remarked, raising an eyebrow jokingly as both she and Kankuro burst out laughing at their brother's horrified look.

"You two are really _enjoying_ this, aren't you?" Gaara sighed, deciding to try ignoring them now.

"You better believe it! We never dreamed you'd end up falling for anyone, let alone a feisty spitfire like her." Kankuro replied, not even trying to stem his laughter now.

"Well, I think it's good for you………….and for the well-being and lives of everyone else!" Temari joked, tears streaming now from her eyes as Gaara snorted. "Anyway, Kankuro and I must be leaving." Temari continued as they both got up to leave and headed towards the door. "After all, we have to devise a way to get you and your precious Sakura blossom together before she gets here." With this last jibe, the siblings left a choking, sputtering Gaara behind as they continued laughing the entire way out of the building.

As always, please review. Your opinions are highly valued. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm going to try to keep a balance between the humor and the seriousness of some of the upcoming parts of the story. Until next time!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing save this particular take on a common idea amongst Gaara/Sakura fans.

'_Thoughts_'

'_**Inner Sakura'**_

"Speech out loud"

Chapter 2:

After she had calmed down some in a manner that involved inner Sakura and many now demolished trees, Sakura decided she needed to choose who to take with her, though it wasn't a really difficult decision for her. "Better go find Hinata-chan." Sakura whispered to herself as she headed to where Hinata and Naruto were supposed to be waiting for her, still feeling rather incredulous at the thought Gaara actually wanting _her_ for something so important.

Upon arriving at the bridge that team seven used to always meet up at, Sakura found only Hinata waiting for her.

"Hey Hinata-chan, where's Naruto this time?" Sakura asked, not one ounce of surprise in her voice.

"His sensei dragged him off for some kind of special training. He said he would meet up with us tonight" Hinata replied.

_**'I think we all know what kind of "special" training that is…..except maybe Hinata-chan'**_ was inner Sakura's comment.

"I'll bet," was all Sakura said out loud on the subject. "It's probably for the best actually given what I need to talk to you about."

"Oh, what's that Sakura-chan?" It had taken Sakura months to get Hinata to start calling her this instead of the customary Sakura-_san_ she used to use, and even longer to get her to stutter less.

"Let's go to my house to talk about it in private, and also so I can start on the preparations I have to do for…..well that's what we're going to talk about." Sakura said.

"All right then, lead the way Sakura-chan!" Hinata replied, a little curious now about what Sakura had to tell her.

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Once at Sakura's home, Sakura led Hinata to her room before getting them both some tea and settling down to discuss everything with her. She didn't know whether to ease into it or just come out and ask her to go with her.

"Okay Sakura, I know this is big, you're rarely nervous around me unless it is." Hinata stated matter-of-factly, implying that Sakura had better spill it now or else.

"Hehe….you caught me Hinata" Sakura replied nervously, both having dropped all honorifics since they weren't in public and this was a serious discussion. "Tsunade-sensei called me to her office to give me a very…. _unique_ mission….a rather long-term one at that……..and well, oh to hell with it, I'll just say it. Myself and another medic of my choosing are to go to Suna to train the medics there and I am to act as head of their medical field until one of theirs is ready at the personal request of the Kazekage…… _Gaara-san_ himself." Sakura gave up on beating around the bush. It never was really her style.

"Oh! Wow…um really? Gaara-san did? I know you and Naruto-kun had become somewhat friendly with him, Naruto-kun especially, but wow! What an honor." Hinata said, obviously as surprised as Sakura at this development, before coming back to her senses somewhat. "I can understand why though, I mean, you were the Hokage's apprentice and so learned everything she knows pretty much and are therefore our second best medic-nin. As well, Gaara-san actually respects you so it makes sense that he would request you when you think about it. But, um…. who are you going to take with you?"

"Wow Hinata, that's one of your longest speeches ever!" Sakura joked before turning serious again. "Actually Hinata, I was hoping that _you_ would come with me as you are also an excellent medic-nin and as Naruto's girlfriend Gaara-san will have more respect for you than any other………and well, I really want to have a female friend there and you _are_ my best friend…..so….." Sakura trailed off looking at Hinata hopefully.

"Of course I will, though it would mean I wouldn't see Naruto-kun for a while. Now I know why you said that it was probably for the best that he wasn't able to meet us yet." Hinata replied with a laugh, imagining what Naruto's reaction would have been to the news. "We never would have been able to prepare to leave. At least this way we'll be able to get ready _before_ we tell him."

"You said it!" Sakura agreed, laughing as well. "Well, Tsunade-sensei said something about this lasting a year or so…..and I'm not sure she was joking, so we have a massive amount of packing and preparations to do…..especially since she wants to leave as soon as possible." Sakura said with a sigh. "How are we supposed to manage this?" She wondered.

"Well then, we had best get started! But I think maybe we could talk Tenten-chan and Ino-chan into helping us out, and Neji-niisan and Lee-san too, you know, for the heavy lifting we'll have to have our escorts do. We do get an Anbu guard right?" Hinata asked, looking toward where Sakura was looking at the file holding the finer details of their mission.

"Yep! Neji-san and Tenten-san are actually part of it. So let's go get that help!" Sakura said, starting to get excited.

_**'Yeah, this is going to be awesome!'**_ Inner Sakura said pumping her arm in the air.

…………….She really had no idea.

Drop a comment, if you would be so kind.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters.

Chapter 3

Hiding out in the shade of one of the unique trees that surprisingly grew in Suna even though it's a desert, Temari and Kankuro were trying to stay away from Gaara so they could plan how to get Sakura and him together, a task made difficult by a number of things that Temari had written down on a piece of paper.

"Okay, problem number 1: Gaara's stubborn. Problem number 2: So is Sakura. Problem number 3: Gaara's violent. Problem number 4: So is Sakura. Gee, I see a pattern. These two were totally made for each other." Temari remarked, rolling her eyes. "Let's see what else. Problem number five: It'll be a cold day in hell before Gaara confesses his undying love for Sakura….or that he even cares for her as more than an asset to Suna and a friend…….somewhat. Well, we'll just have to send millions of ice machines and air conditioners to hell set on full blast. Maybe we can convince Gaara to destroy them for us; he has a real knack for it." Temari says remembering what happened one day when Gaara was trying to work the washing machine, and it started spraying soap bubbles at him so he reduced it to a burning pile of rust………………..a feat only he could accomplish.

"Temari, I don't think that will work. There would have to be enough left of the machines to work. Besides, where would you plug the machines in there anyway?" Kankuro asked, eyeing his sister strangely.

"At the power plant they use to power the electric chairs, duh!" Temari said, feigning a look of utter seriousness for a moment before cracking up with Kankuro.

"Alright then, we need a real plan, and I think there are some more problems on that list and a large number of them have Sissy's name all over them." Kankuro stated, using the nickname he had adopted for Sakura one of the times they had gone to Konoha to visit her and Naruto while on mission there. The name had a few meanings behind it, only two of which were known by Sakura. The first, which gave him the idea for the name, was an incident where one of Sakura's fears came to light while they were relaxing under some cherry blossom trees one day. They had been slightly dozing and chatting happily enough, they being Sakura, Temari and himself, (Gaara and Naruto were sparring elsewhere) when Sakura had suddenly screeched, jumped up and hid behind him, pointing at something that she had sent flying off her as she screeched. Thinking whatever it was must be dangerous and knowing Gaara would kill him if something happened to his 'precious little flower', he approached the thing cautiously ready to attack. He almost died of laughter when he saw what it was……….. a spider that had crawled up her leg some before she saw it. She had continued to screech at him, telling him to kill it. He had made some crack about it being a harmless spider and her just being a sissy, before inner Sakura appeared threatening him into doing away with the offending spider or else. After he had killed it and Sakura had calmed some, he brought up the sissy comment again and said he would call her that from now on. When she had become defensive once more, he calmly added that the nickname also worked because he saw her as a little sister. This, being the second meaning of the nickname, had calmed her down completely and she hugged saying that was so sweet of him. The third meaning which neither she nor Gaara knew was that he firmly believes she and Gaara will get married one day no matter how stubborn they are – Temari and himself would see to it. Which leads us back to what they were currently doing – planning a way to get them together without either of them killing Temari or himself.

"……problem number 34: Sakura is easily embarrassed. Hmm, we could use this to our advantage don't you think?" Temari asked, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, but we would have to be very careful because of problem number 35: Inner Sakura injures those that embarrass her." Kankuro said, knowing this one from experience.

"Gah, these two are so much trouble! Why can't they just get over themselves and hook up on their own!" Temari said, completely exasperated.

"Why, because then we wouldn't be able to play matchmaker dear sister!" Kankuro sighed dramatically, feigning a look of horror, throwing Temari into a fit of giggles.

"True, true. Well, better get on with this then. She'll be here in a couple of days after all and we can't avoid Gaara forever. Actually, I'm surprised he hasn't found us yet. I wonder what he's been up to?" Temari wondered aloud, thinking it highly unusual for Gaara not to have found them as he always did if he's serious about doing so.

"Who knows, maybe he's decided to help us and is thinking of a way to woo Sakura." Kankuro joked, firmly believing Gaara would do no such thing.

Shows how little he really knows…..

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Comments are always appreciated.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 4:

To say that Kankuro and Temari, along with just about everyone else who knows Gaara would be shocked to know what he actually was doing right then would be an understatement. Gaara was walking through the marketplace, looking for a gift for Sakura and Hinata (he knew that would be who she would choose to bring with her) after having been in a rather unusual meeting that morning.

Every year, Suna holds a week long festival celebrating their culture. Really, it was just an excuse to party and show off the most eligible females in hopes of having them wed to the most eligible bachelors of Suna – of which he was actually the top due to his position. In other words, pompous rich families were going to harass him for a whole week trying to get him to marry their daughters. Thankfully, this festival would not take place for another month so he had time to prepare and he already had a plan of his own.

This brings us back to him shopping for a gift for the soon to be arriving medics. While he would not admit out loud that he was interested in Sakura, he had admitted it to himself. As he new that his conniving siblings were already planning something (they were suspiciously absent from the meeting that morning and hadn't been seen since they made fun of him last night), he decided to try and gain Sakura's affections his own way. It was customary in Suna to give a small token of appreciation to foreign ninja who come to aid your village for a period longer than six months, and Sakura and Hinata would surely be in Suna for close to a year if not longer. So he was taking full advantage of this to get a very special gift for Sakura. He also did not mind giving a gift to his closest friends' girlfriend. Anyone that could see past the fact that their boyfriend had a demon inside of them and still love them was high on his list of people he respects.

However, Gaara was not having much luck finding a gift for Sakura – and the merchants could tell. He had begun to take out his frustrations on some rather unfortunate merchants who had actually asked what his lady friend might look like and be interested in, hoping to aid their Kazekage with his dilemma, only to be on the receiving end of Gaara's infamous glare and a sharp comment about how it was 'none of their damn business and to bloody stay out of it'. Nope, Gaara was about two comments away from killing someone – something he hadn't actually done much of since Naruto and Sakura had helped him make peace with Shukaku. But that was a story for another time. Right now he was at his wits end and needed to find a gift for the sake of what miniscule amount of sanity he had left. Thankfully, he had come upon the store of a particularly understanding storeowner who sold all kinds of merchandise for females and only females. In fact, said merchant was female as well.

Upon entering the store, Gaara wondered why he hadn't just come here to begin with. You see the lady who owns the store and his siblings as well as himself were on very friendly terms. You could almost say she was like a grandmother to the three of them since the last of their family was killed a number of years back. The lady, a very kindhearted individual who always new exactly what to say to a person and when, and would try to help out anyway she could, immediately new that Gaara was extremely upset and agitated and so came over right away to greet him.

"Hello Gaara-sama. It is wonderful to see you again. I had begun to think that you had forgotten about this poor old lady." The lady said, trying to ease away the tension she could see in Gaara – and it was already beginning to work.

"I could never forget about you Shizuka-obaasan. I have just been very busy as of late." Gaara replied feeling much calmer now.

"Good. If you had I'd have left you to find the gifts you are looking for by yourself." Shizuka said smartly, shaking a finger at him.

"You probably would too." Gaara laughed. Shizuka was one of the few people he didn't mind poking fun at him – he could never hurt her anyway, at least not in his right mind.

"Well then, let's get started! Now, I think it's safe to assume the gift causing you the most trouble is for a certain pink haired beauty that has stolen your heart, am I right?" Shizuka stated knowingly. "The other is probably that quiet girl Naruto is seeing eh?" She had met Sakura and Naruto one of the times they visited Suna and Naruto had tried to find a gift for Hinata while they were there.

"Those two devious matchmakers I have the distinct displeasure of calling siblings told you already didn't they." Gaara said rolling his eyes. "I should have guessed."

"Of course they did dear. But don't be too harsh on us; we just want you to be happy." Shizuka replied, pretending to be innocent.

"Sure, and I'm sleeping beauty who enjoys dancing around with overly cute and furry animals. Ha, you three just love my discomfort don't you?" Gaara said, though it wasn't really a question, but a fact.

"Yes, that too dear. However I really do want you to be happy. So, how about we start with the easier one, hmm?" Shizuka said, already heading toward a display to find something.

"I suppose. You would know best obaasan." Gaara answered, following her to see what she would choose for Hinata.

"You've got that right. You may be one the best ninja in the world, but when it comes to women you're an absolute rookie." She was truly enjoying poking fun at him.

"Hn." Was Gaara's only response to that comment, as he couldn't really deny that fact.

"Well now, we can't get them clothing since we don't know what their sizes are now so it's best to avoid that for now. Though I do want you to send them to me after they get here, so I can give them some clothes that are more appropriate for this climate." She said while eyeing some lotions. "Ah, here we are. Since Hinata has never been here before, she probably doesn't know how harsh the weather is on the skin and a medics' hands are very important. Now for Sakura, we need something special. She already has a number of my lotions so they are out of the question. Hmm." She proceeded to wander over to another display. "Oh, I have just the thing. Gaara come tell me what you think."

Gaara, who was holding the gift for Hinata came over to look. His eyes widened and a small smile crept onto his face. "It's perfect." Was all he could say.

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Whew, that was a challenge. Not a lot of humor unless you count the fact that the whole idea is comical. Next chapter it's back to Konoha!


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters.

Chapter 5:

"Phew, finally finished. How about you Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked, wiping her forehead.

"Yes, I didn't think we'd be able to. Thanks a lot everyone!" Hinata said looking over to TenTen who was closing the last of the boxes.

"No problem you two. This is probably the last time we get to spend together like this before you leave with the Anbu guard for Suna tonight." TenTen replied. "I'm going to miss you guys." She said dramatically.

"Aww…..poor TenTen-chan. How are you ever going to survive dealing with all the guys without us?" Sakura joked.

"Same way I always do. Sick Neji-kun on them!" TenTen said like it was obvious, causing all three girls to burst out laughing.

"Hey now, cut the boy some slack. Otherwise he won't help us carry all this stuff to Suna!" Sakura said. Neji was to be the leader of the Anbu team escorting Hinata and herself to Suna. Truthfully, there wasn't a lot of stuff to bring as they had no idea where they would be living until they got there, and so only packed what was essential with the plan of buying everything else they might want or need after they got there.

"Hn. Girls." Neji said from where he was watching them, leaning against a wall.

"Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, how are you going to tell Naruto-san about this mission?" Lee asked while piling the boxes near the door.

"Why, at the last minute of course so he has no time to think of a plan to either prevent our departure or to come with us." Sakura answered cattily.

"It's not like we'll see him until then anyway since he is busy training with his sensei right now." Hinata stated, trying to justify their reasoning.

"Hmph. What kind of training could that pervert possibly be providing." Neji remarked quietly.

"Don't worry about it Hinata-chan, I'm sure he'll understand……….. eventually." Lee said, trying to be encouraging.

"Yeah, and then he'll go running off to Suna to see you!" TenTen jibed.

"It's a good thing Gaara-san likes him." Sakura commented.

"Yes, or else he'd be killed within minutes." Neji remarked.

"Bad Neji-kun!" TenTen said, slapping Neji on the arm. "Be a little more sensitive to Hinata-chan's feelings."

"Whatever you say." Neji mumbled, looking away, embarrassed.

"Ouch, you've got him whipped good TenTen-chan." Sakura said, snickering. Neji just growled whilst trying to glare at Sakura for her snide remark, though it wasn't very effective with the steadily darkening blush staining his cheeks.

"Play nice everyone. Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan don't have much time left before they leave, so let's try to make the best of it." Lee coaxed, playing mediator.

"Lee-san's right, let's go get Naruto-kun and the others and go out for dinner, is that all right?" Hinata requested timidly, not liking the conflict.

"Sure thing Hinata-chan. This is your last evening here after all." TenTen said as they all prepared to leave.

"Yep, let's go make the best of it!" Sakura said while they all left to meet the others.

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After meeting up with the rest of the rookie nine (minus Sasuke, who was still unheard from since he departed for Sound) they all went out for dinner together. The evening past by pleasantly, with only a few incidents that usually involved Naruto and food.

Afterward, Hinata quietly took Naruto with her for a walk through the training grounds to tell him about the mission while the others helped Sakura and the Anbu team consisting of Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru to prepare and gather all of the gear and head to the gates where their former sensei's were to send them off.

Hinata and a surprisingly calm looking Naruto met them at the gate as well and they all said their goodbyes. It was fairly uneventful with Naruto only exclaiming that he would visit in a couple of months thanks to Hinata's influence instead of right away like he would have. After a few comments from a late Kakashi who earned himself yet another reprimand from Sakura and Naruto like in their genin days, the group headed for Suna was off, hoping to make it to Suna in a couple of days.

"Do you think Temari-chan and Kankuro-chan will be happy to see us?" Sakura asked Hinata, purposely avoiding the discussion of Gaara.

"Yes, just as I'm sure Gaara-sama will be happy to see you as well." Hinata replied, not letting Sakura avoid the topic. She could be quite sly when on the right topics.

"I'm still rather puzzled about Gaara-san. I know I am one of the top medics having trained with Tsunade-sensei and that we get along better now that we're friends which means he trusts me, but there seems like there is another, possibly more important reason why and I can't figure out what." Sakura said, deep in thought now.

"Well, we'll find out soon Sakura-chan." Hinata replied as they hurried onwards with their Anbu guard protecting them silently, or rather as silently as their friends ever were anyway.

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Another one down, way too many to go…..


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Never have, and I never will.

Chapter 6:

Sakura, Hinata, and their Anbu team made it to Suna late in the afternoon three days after their departure from Konoha. After having bidden farewell to their friends that had to return home immediately, Sakura and Hinata entered the bustling city and stopped for a bit to look around………….partially because they were unsure of where to head.

"Sakura-chan, do you know where Gaara-sama's office is?" Hinata asked, as she looked rather lost.

"Sort of Hinata-chan. Naruto and I didn't spend much time there when we were here last. I'd kind of hoped Temari-chan or Kankuro-chan would be here to take us there." Sakura answered. She looked fairly lost herself. Thankfully, a rescue came in the form of Temari and Kankuro exactly as Sakura had hoped.

"Hey there stranger and strangeness!" Kankuro yelled to the two of them as he and Temari made there way to them through the crowd.

"Who are you calling strange, girly man. I see you still wear makeup." Sakura replied in a joking manner.

"Why you of course, Sissy. Of course I still wear it; you'd be disappointed otherwise because you'd have nothing to poke fun at me about while I have plenty of things to poke fun at you for." Kankuro answered back, standing in front of her, looking down because he was much taller.

"That's what you think." Sakura said with an evil look on her face.

"Alright you two, break it up. Sakura just got here and already you're at it again." Temari scolded jokingly, shaking her head.

"Of course, you would think something is wrong with us otherwise." Sakura remarked.

"True enough. Anyway, save it for later. We need to take you to see Gaara-san and then get you both settled in." Temari stated.

"Lead the way then Temari-chan!" Sakura said, mock saluting her.

"Ha ha, very funny you. Let's go." Temari said, motioning them to follow her.

"You okay Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked while they followed Temari and Kankuro to Gaara's office since the girl had been quiet throughout the whole exchange.

"Yes Sakura-chan. But do you guys always act this relaxed together?" Hinata wondered.

"You bet we do. It drives Gaara-san nuts sometimes. Good thing he doesn't kill much anymore." Sakura joked, trying to get Hinata to relax.

"That's good. At least we'll have a good time during our stay then." Hinata said with a smile.

"Just wait Hinata-chan; it gets much better, especially at dinner." Sakura said, the evil look making a return appearance. She had apparently spent too much time with Gaara already to have gained that particular look that was trademarked to him.

"She's right Hinata-san, it does get even better." Kankuro added, his expression mirroring Sakura's. He'd spent too much time with Gaara as well.

"Run while you still can Hinata-chan." Temari warned, eyeing the two worriedly.

"Too late!" Sakura and Kankuro replied in unison, which was always a bad sign.

"Don't worry Temari-san; I've spent a lot of time with Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun. I'm getting used to this kind of thing." Hinata said, though she still eyed the grinning pair worriedly as well.

"I suppose you're right Hinata-chan. I just thought it my duty to forewarn you about them." Temari said, stopping in front of a huge building that looked like an office building made of stone………which it probably was. "Here we are. Let's hurry up before Gaara-san throws a fit at us for not rescuing him from the vipers sooner."

"The vipers? What do you mean? Who could _Gaara-san_ possibly need rescuing from?" Sakura asked disbelievingly.

"Oh you'll see Sissy. You'll see." Kankuro said with a shudder.

"Yes you will because here we are everyone." Temari said, preparing to knock on the rather large pair of doors in front of them. "Here goes nothing." She said before banging loudly on the door.

"Should we be concerned?" Hinata asked, looking pensive.

"I think so Hinata-chan. I think so." Sakura replied, wondering what was going on in the office behind the pair of doors in front of them.

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Another chapter bites the dust. Well, this is where I left off before my hiatus so it'll all be new from here on should I decide to continue with this, which will depend on whether I get inspired to or not. I've almost completely fallen out of love with Naruto with the new manga chapters, so I can't say whether or not it is truly likely that I will. I apologize to my readers, as I know how frustrating it is to have one of your favorite stories simply stop in the middle/beginning because the author doesn't want to continue.


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